Sakaya NYC Blog

We begin the month with two tastings of the last wave (and best in our opinion) of the special Spring release namazake.   Next is the debut of the sake from the latest importer to make their brews available in NYC, Sake Story.

And finally, with brewers making their annual mid-May visits to NYC,  we have a full schedule of tastings to offer visitors the opportunity to meet them and sample their sake.

Please join us!

Kanpai!

Rick & Hiroko

Friday, May 1, 6 to 8PM

Japan Prestige Sake Spring Nama Tasting

Saturday, May 9, 3 to 6PM

Japan Prestige Sake Spring Nama Tasting

Thursday, May 14, 6 to 8PM

Sake Story Selections Sake Tasting

Saturday, May 16, 3 to 6PM

Daimon Brewer Sake Tasting

Sunday, May 18, 3 to 5PM

Tentaka Brewer &  Kanbara Brewer Sake Tasting

Friday, May 29, 6 to 8PM

Naruto Tai Brewer Sake Tasting

Sunday, May 31, 3 to 5PM

Onikoroshi Brewer Sake Tasting

Imagine if you will,  a journey through time and space that begins with an intensive abrasion of your skin.  While  still smarting, you’re jet-sprayed, dunked, and held under water until you’ve shed whatever residue  remained from the abrasion.  “Whew! Glad th  at’s over with,” you think as you lie down and rest for the night.

But early the following morning before you know what’s happening,  you’re in the hottest Turkish bath you’ve never dreamed of.  Ouch!  With great relief you’re allowed to cool off while b  eing transported somewhere by conveyor belt.  Suddenly,  without warning,  you’re sucked into a hose and flying at warp speed  until…splash!  You’ve been shot into  a tank of yeasty smelling liquid.

Such is the sakamai‘s  tale.

(Posted from Daimon Shuzo sake brewery in Osaka-fu)

How do they do it?  There are so many tasks and so few kurabito.  Our Mukune International Sake Brewing Program intern team of six has doubled the work force at Daimon Shuzo.   The experience of the last day and a half has given me an immense appreciation for the efficiency of the operation of this sakagura.   To say that the craft of sake making is arduous and demanding would be an understatement.  But the real difference maker is the coordination, timing, and teamwork.

We’ve washed, soaked, steamed, and cooled rice for a variety of uses (and we’ll do more).  We’ve made and moved koji.  Made boxes and labeled bottles.   Washed and cleaned our equipment and the materials used in the process.  We’ll do that many times more as well.   Along with the physical, we’ve also be given an inside look at the science and management of the process.  It is astounding what the full time kura team accomplishes in creating and packaging a variety of different sake (each with it’s own unique “recipe” requiring different logistics and timing).  All is seamlessly integrated following  a flow of steps that bends and turns according to time, temperature, and taste.

At the figurative end of the day,  we’ve had a literal taste of the satisfaction that a toji feels as he samples the free run sake that is the first to flow out of the Yabuta (the machine that presses the fermented mash and yields the fresh undiluted, unpasteurized sake).  At the literal end of the day, we’ve also experienced the blissful exhaustion that comes from a labor that produces such an exquisite beverage.   I know that I’ve never slept so well.

 

 

Within 10 minutes of our arrival at the Daimon Shuzo kura, we were immersed in the transfer of koji from wooden box-like trays to a burlap lined,  wire mesh-based variety.   We were smelling, smoothing, and yes, even tasting the almost styrofoam-like grains of rice that were now in a state of saccharine transformation due to the effects of exposure to their koji-kin invaders. With apologies for the lack of specific terminology,  it was the experience of immediate entrance into the world and craft of sake brewing that was singularly exhilarating.

Our welcome from Shacho (President) and Toji (Brewmaster) Yasutaka Daimon was at the same time, warm, gracious, and enthusiastic.   “Fasten your seat belts!” he exclaimed as he  smiled at us from the top of the stairway.  And then, there we were, up to our eyes in koji.

The subsequent exploration of our new home ultimately led to a steep, well-worn wooden stairway which led to our sleeping quarters.  Looking straight up into the eaves of this ancient structure,  I was struck by the feeling (realization?)   that I was exactly where I most wanted to be.  The stairway symbolized that point of entry from one world to the next.

Thanks to Daimon Shuzo sake brewery President and Master Brewer Yasutaka Daimon and a handful of sake souls including True Sake’s Beau Timken and Sake Handbook author John Gauntner, the Mukune International Sake Brewing Program, a revolutionary new sake education program, was born this February 9.  Yours truly will be among the fortunate fifteen this first year to actively participate as a kurobito (sake brewery worker) for a week in early March.

Each of the four week-long sessions will allow six interns the opportunity to live and work in the Mukune Brewery in a small village outside of Osaka making sake.

You can check in on the real time blog of these first interns as they learn firsthand about the craft that creates the beverage that we all enjoy so much.  The first session is now in progress and I’ll be blogging in this space when our session (#2) begins on March 9.

If you’re a sake enthusiast, you won’t want to miss this unprecedented insight into the cloistered world of sake brewing.

Kanpai!

Rick

Holy koji-kin! Hard to believe but it’s already been 6 months since we opened our doors in December. In the brief life of SAKAYA, we’ve been honored and excited to have had a steady stream of kuramoto (sake brewers) from some of Japan’s most distinguished breweries visiting the shop to pour their sake for our eager-to-learn customers.

To celebrate SAKAYA’s six month anniversary we wanted to thank them for their friendship and support by sharing this photo gallery commemorating their first visits to our shop.

It’s difficult to find the words that adequately express our gratitude to our friends, customers and new friends from the sake world for the enthusiastic reception and support that SAKAYA has received. We thank you all VERY much and look forward to sharing more sake experiences together with you!

Kanpai!

from left… Mr. Yasutaka Daimon from Daimon Shuzo (12/11/07), Mr. Tsushima Kitahara from Yamanashi Meijo, a.k.a Shichiken brand (1/4/08), Mr. Kosuke Kuji from Nanbu Bijin (1/12/08).

from left… Mr. Takeshi Endo & Mr. Daisuke Takasawa from Kikusui (1/22/08), Ms. Kumiko Kurosawa from Hakkaisan (1/30/08), Kazuhiro Sakurai from Asahi Shuzo, a.k.a. Dassai brand (2/1/08).

from left… Ms. Sachiko Toshioka & Mr. Junichi Yageta from Fukumitsuya a.k.a. Kagatobi brand (2/22/08), Mr. Shunsuke Kohiyama from Takasago Shuzo (3/4/08), Mr. Munenori Ozaki from Tentaka Shuzo (4/5/08)

from left… Sake Handbook author Mr. John Gaunter (4/5/08), Mr. Yoshiyasu Sudo from Sudo Honke (4/5/08), Ms. Miho Imada from Imada Shuzo (4/5/08).

from left… Mr. Niichiro Marumoto from Marumoto Shuzo a.k.a. Chikurin brand (4/7/08), Mr. Hiroyuki Yamazaki from Otokoyama (4/12/08), Mr. Kenzo Mabuchi from Tamano Hikari (4/24/08).

from left… Mr. Manabu Shobayashi from Kamotsuru Shuzo (5/15/08), Mr. Kotaro Saito from Saiya Shuzo a.k.a. Yuki no Bosha brand (5/16/08), Mr. Junichiro Yageta from Fukumitsuya a.k.a. Kagatobi brand (6/4/08).